Analysis of Wyoming's policies

Wyoming only requires all new elementary teachers to pass a popular content test from the Praxis series that combines both subject-matter knowledge and pedagogy in order to attain licensure. All alternate route teachers are also required to pass pedagogy tests.

Wyoming is part of the Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) consortium and began a pilot program in Spring 2011.

Recommendations for Wyoming

Wyoming should verify that all new teachers meet professional standards through a test of professional standards.

Ensure that performance assessments provide a meaningful measure of new teachers' knowledge and skills.

While Wyoming is commended for considering the use of a performance-based assessment, the state should proceed with caution until additional data are available on the Teacher Performance Assessment. Additional research is needed to determine how the edTPA compares to other teacher tests as well as whether the test's scores are predictive of student achievement. The track record on similar assessments is mixed at best. The two states that currently require the Praxis III performance-based assessment report pass rates of about 99 percent. Given that it takes significant resources to administer a performance-based assessment, a test that nearly every teacher passes is of questionable value.

Exiting Ineffective Teachers

Pensions

How we graded

Research rationale

A good pedagogy test
puts teeth in states' professional standards.

In order to ensure that the state is licensing only teachers
who meet its expectations, all standards must be testable. State standards that
cannot be assessed in a practical and cost-effective manner have no value.
Examples of knowledge that can be tested include the basic elements of good
instruction, how to communicate effectively with children, how to use class
time efficiently, effective questioning techniques, establishing smooth
classroom routines, the importance of feedback, engaging parents, the best
methods for teaching reading as well as other subjects, appropriate use of
technology, knowledge of testing and the fundamentals of addressing individual
learning challenges.

States use too many tests to measure new teachers'
professional knowledge that utterly fail to do so, either because the passing score
is set so low that anyone—even those who have not had professional
preparation—can pass or because one can discern the "right" answer on
an item simply by the way it is written.

Performance
assessments are an important step in the right direction.

Many states are considering—and a few now
require—performance assessments to evaluate teacher candidates' pedagogy before
an initial license is granted. A
performance assessment can be of much more value than a traditional multiple
choice test. However, states need to make sure that such tests are
technically sound, especially given the significant resources that it takes to
administer and score performance assessments.
The past track record on similar assessments is mixed at best. The two
states that required the Praxis III performance-based assessment reported pass
rates of about 99 percent. a test that
nearly every teacher passes is of questionable value. Additional research is
needed to determine how the next generation of performance assessments, including
the edTPA, compares to other teacher tests as well as whether the test's scores
are predictive of student achievement.

Assessing Professional Knowledge: Supporting Research

For
evidence of the importance of pedagogy tests in improving student achievement,
see C. Clotfelter, H.Ladd and J.Vigdor, "How and Why Do Teacher Credentials
Matter for Student Achievement?" Working
Paper 2, Calder Institute (2007).